by Matt Erickson , USA TODAY Sports

by Matt Erickson , USA TODAY Sports

The doctor who performed the surgery on Anderson Silva's broken leg believes the former mixed martial arts champion could fight again. That thought is on Silva's mind as well.

Steven Sanders, the Ultimate Fighting Championship's orthopedic surgeon, said on Monday that Silva's recovery should have him fighting again if he chooses. Silva was thinking about a possible return before the surgery even took place.

"In the pre-op area, his question was, 'When can I train?'" Sanders said. "And he asks every time I see him on my rounds, 'When can I train?', and I always indicate to him he should be able to train. It's important to be positive with your patient."

Silva (33-6 MMA, 16-2 UFC), widely regarded as the greatest fighter in MMA history, broke his left tibia and fibula in the main event of UFC 168 on Saturday. The Brazilian was attempting to regain the middleweight title he lost to Chris Weidman in July, when he was knocked out and suffered his first career UFC loss.

In the second round of the rematch, Silva threw an inside leg kick that Weidman lifted his left leg to check. Silva's left shin made contact with the inside of Weidman's left knee and the result was one of MMA's most gruesome injuries.

Silva left Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena on a stretcher to the shock of fans in attendance, many who had traveled from Brazil to see one of that country's national sports heroes. Sanders said he placed a titanium rod in Silva's leg to stabilize his tibia, and his fibula was reset during the hour-long procedure.

"We're not even 48 hours from the surgery, and tibia fractures, though we can get them to heal, can have a slower healing," Sanders said. "My prognosis for healing is three to six months. But there are also soft tissue components that have to heal. If I had to make a guess less than 48 hours from the operation, it would be the fracture healing in three to six months, and attempting to train, six to nine months."

Sanders told USA TODAY Sports there was nothing to indicate that the bones in Silva's leg may have been weakened prior to the kick that broke it. Silva's fighting style has involved kicks, and although he is a Brazilian jiujitsu black belt, he is best known for his muay Thai and kickboxing.

"As an orthopedic surgeon, when any injury occurs, we like to know that it's from the trauma and not from some unsuspected underlying condition," he said. "From the X-rays ... there was no apparent predisposing pathology in that bone that would have led to this particular event occurring."

Sanders performed the surgery at University Medical Center in Las Vegas, a Level I trauma center.

Sanders said Silva already is attempting to walk with crutches in the hospital, and that as his pain starts to minimize, Silva will start to test out how much pressure he can put on his leg as it begins to heal. Sanders said the injury could be worse.

"In terms of the severity of the injury, it was fairly severe," said Sanders, who called the injury one that tends toward being "unique" in his line of work. "But I can give examples of worst-case scenarios of what could have happened. The skin could've broken, which would've dramatically increased the chance of infection. He could have torn a blood vessel, which would hurt blood flow to the foot."

Silva started his UFC career 16-0 and won the promotion's middleweight title in his second fight. He held it for nearly seven years until his loss to Weidman in July.

With two losses in a row and facing a lengthy recovery, the UFC will have to do without another of its most bankable stars. Top draw Georges St-Pierre vacated his welterweight title this month to deal with personal problems. It now loses Silva for an indefinite period. UFC Chief Operating Officer Lawrence Epstein said that's not on his mind right now.

"We've got more than 400 fighters under contract and a lot of amazing champions," he said. "Silva is a special guy, and we'll never try to replace someone like him. But the most important thing is he makes a speedy recovery. ... My first concern was, let's make sure we take care of Anderson."

Erickson also writes for MMAjunkie.com, a property of USA TODAY Sports Media Group.